Wireless communications was the overriding theme at this year's CeBIT Australia in Sydney last week. Though it was not quite the gadget buffet that CeBIT Hanover proved to be, there was nevertheless a choice spread for geeks to feast on.
On display were advanced handsets from a number of mobile phone makers, including third-generation and CDMA 1X mobile phones from Motorola, Panasonic, Sony-Ericsson, NEC, LG and Samsung.
Australia is the first country in the Asia-Pacific, outside Japan and South Korea, to roll out a commercial 3G network.
Though the show was promoted as the most important 'information communications technology' event in Australia, large domestic operator Optus was not present, nor was the country's first 3G network operator, Hutchison Telecom.
Vodafone, which operates a general packet radio service (GPRS) network, was the only telecoms company with a significant presence at the show.
Most next-generation handsets displayed sport the popular clam-shell design, to accommodate more features in a small form. I was disappointed that none of the vendors had hands-on booths to allow visitors to experience 3G handsets and the kind of speed and services available. Instead, most of the phones were merely dummy exhibits.
